Band saw guide with an adjustable back roller



H. G. MILLER March 2, 1954 BAND SAW GUIDE WITH AN ADJUSTABLE BACK ROLLER2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1951 INVENTOR. Haw/y 6. M///e/' BYATTZNEK March 2, 1954' G 2,670,767

BAND SAW GUIDE WITH AN ADJUSTABLE BACK ROLLER Filed April 23, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 PR/OR AR Z6 I W/ Arm NEK Patented Mar. 2, 1954 BANDSAWGUIDE WITH AN ADJUSTABLE BACK ROLLER Harry G. Miller, ,Kansas City,Kans., :assignor-to ,G aqeM lmuKer aiirlK s Application April 23,1951,:SerialNo. 222,436

ningover upper'and lower pulleyswith the down run or flight of the banddoing the-sawingin order that the sawing thruston the work-willhedownward and will :be taken by the table on which the work is supported.Ever sincethe advent-of-iband-saws-the planesof the down andiup runs orflights of the saw, band have been kept parallel with each. other .andat right angles to a li-nedra'wn between the two runs; andof necessitythe work hasxhadto be moved towardxbothruns of the saw band along a pathnormal to a line drawn :from .one run or flight of :the. saw band to:the other.

The horizontal distance between the. two runs or flights of .thesawbandis determined .by-the horizontal span. of the. pulleys, or pulley Systemover which the saw band runs; and because :the work must'be movedtoward'the saw band in a direction normal to a line drawn from .one runto the other of the saw .band, :the-thorizontal length of the work mustnot extend from the cutting run of the saw band as :far as -tthe.=uprunor flight -of the saw Jband; oranyguardnor shield that may be presentthere, :for otherwise, theuprun or flight of the-saWhand-orits shield or.gua-rd would be contacted by :the work and the sawing operation by: thecutting run of the saw band would be spoiled. 'This':has hereto foreseverely limited-:the rang of utility of" band saws,- particularly as.torthe "length ,Of':WO1fk :that couldibe sawed .ofi.

A-principal-object of my invention is to pro.- vide' a method of-sbandsawing lumber,.-metal .and other material whereby the length of 'theworkextending from the cutting run or flight of- .the saw band-toward the.other runor flight :is not limited for restricted zto .less than .thehorizontal distance :between the .runs or flights Lof the-saw bands andwhereby-therlength of the work from thecutting run toward :the other-runof, the saw band may be-glonger, and to anunlirnited extent, than :thehorizontaldistance "between the {two runs or flights of; the saw band,:thus increasing the range. of utility ,of rband saws tremendously.

iIn-my'prior:PatentNo. 2152 .906, issued .AprilA, 1939, I have discloseda band saw guide whereby the saw'blade'is guidedand reinforced adjacentthe-.work to run trueat all times and 'to prevent lateral movement ofthe blade adj acentthe work and prevent edgewisemovementor-the blade-dueto the-thrust of the work; and another object of "the present inventionis to so improve the construction and mounting of the guide .of saidpatent that the guide not only maintains :the advantages and functionsof said construction but in addition is made to be .so adjustable thatit can be set to maintain the saw blade portion adjacent the worktwisted or canted outwardly so that its plane is diagonallydisposedrelativel to a straight line drawn between the-two runsof the saw band.

Another object of thisinvention is to improve thev adjustable mountingof'the rear thrust re? sisting wheel disclosed in my-prior patentWhereby the wheel is more positively and firmly pm:

I vented from canting in its housing, aswill be more fully explainedhereinafter.

A further object ofthis invention isto improve theguidedisclosed-in mysaid'prior patent with respect to the housing ,so that the housing moreeffectively and surely prevents chips adhering :to the cutting bladefrom .being ,carried .between the blade and the side blade steadying.rollers of the guide.

Other objects of this invention will be inpart obvious and in partpointed .out hereinafter.

The invention, accordingly, consists of the method,steps, thecombinationsof elements and arrangement of parts "which will be-.described more fully hereinafter and the scope of the application ofwhich will be set forth in the claims that follow.

=I-norder that a clearer understanding of this invention may be had,attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings, forming apart o hi appli ation rid illus retin ner ain o sibl embod en s o this nentien, and in whic Fig. l is asidelelevation of a bandsaw, having uppend r. ba d ie gu es th r o and embodying this invention, the upper andlower nort q s o th ben se li rai e u awa a no sh wn; 7

.Fig. :2 is .a plan yiew of one of the bandsaw guides and indicates indottedlines-a possiblelate erally turned position/of the-guide;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 4 is -arear elevation of'the same;

=Fig. =5-is-aplan-viewof -a detail of the guide mountingand is takenontheline 5--5 of Fig. 1;

Fig.6 is a sectional View of one of theguides andis'taken.onthe-line 6-6of Fig. 1;

-Fig. -7 isa perspective view, partly in section, ofthe center portionof the cutting run. of" a .band

3 saw equipped with saw band guides and their mounting means, embodyingthis invention;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the prior method ofbandsawing lumber, metal and other materials; and

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating applicants improved method ofband-sawing lumber,

metal and other materials.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, and first considering the method, Fig. 8depicts how band sawing has been done heretofore and Fig. 9 depicts howband sawing is performed in accordance with my new method. In both ofthese figures S indicates the standard of a band saw, C the cutting runof the saw band, R the return run of the saw band and W the work. Inboth the old method (Fig. 8) and in my new method (Fig. 9) the work W isadvanced to the cutting run C of the saw band with the horizontalleading edge m of the work on a line normal to the plane of the cuttingrun C adjacent the work W. In the old method (Fig. 8) the planes of bothsaw band runs have been parallel with each other and at right angles toa straight line 12 drawn between the saw band runs R and C.Consequently, if the length of the work were such as to extend from therun C to or beyond the return run R the work W would strike both runs Rand C at the same time and the run B would interfere with the sawing ofthe work W by the cutting run C. Accordingly this method of band sawingrestricts and limits the range of utility of the band saw to work thelength of which from the run C toward the run R is shorter than thedistance between the runs R and C.

In accordance with my new method (Fig. 9) I maintain the cutting run Cof the saw band adjacent the work W twisted or canted outwardly so thatadjacent the work the plane of the cutting run C is not at right anglesto the straight line 11 drawn between the runs R and C. Consequently,the leading edge m of the work W when moved toward the work on a lineparallel with the plane of the cutting run C, will approach the line 11.drawn between the saw band runs R and C diagonally. The result is thatwork operated on by the cutter run C and extending from the run towardthe run R will not strike the run R until the leading edge m of the workhas progressed a distance corresponding to the length of a line 0 drawnfrom thefront edge of the saw run R to a line drawn from the front edgeof run C parallel to the leading edge m of the work. The length of theline 0 will vary with the extent the angle between the'plane of thecutter run C departs from right angular relation to the line it drawnbetween the runs R and C. The plane of the cutting run C maydepart asmuch as 45 from a 90 relation to the line 12.

Obviously it is immaterial whether the return run R of the saw band alsobe canted or twisted or not, for instance, to have its plane parallelwith the plane of the run C, as indicated at R, or in the otherdirection as indicated at R (see Fig. 9).

A person may manually hold the cutter run C canted or twisted adjacentthe work while the work is being cut, using his hands, preferablygloved, or using blocks of metal or other material having suitable slitsto slidingly receive the saw band. Meanwhile a second person may feedthe work. However, carrying out the method manually is not recommendedunless necessity 4 therefor arises with a band saw which is not equippedwith mechanical guides for holding the saw band canted or twistedadjacent the Work.

Suitable guides for carrying out my new meth- 0d of band sawing lumber,metal and other materials mechanically may be similar to the band sawguides described in my prior Patent 2,152,906 with a modification whichpermits the guides to be adjusted to face sidewise to a variable extentinstead of only facing directly forwardly.

Referring to the aforementioned patent and to the drawings which form apart of this application, I 6 indicates the frame of a band saw of anyof the Well known types. A vertically adjustable guide post I2, mountedin arm it of the frame, is secured in any desired position by means ofset screw 46. Mounted respectively on horizontally disposed shafts (seepatent) are saw band carrying and driving wheels 2i and 22. An endlesssaw band 24, mounted on these wheels 21 and 22, passes through a slot 26formed in a plug 26 rotatably carried on the work table 28 which iscarried by frame [0. Table 28 has a slot 28' through which the saw bandmay be entered into the slot 26' of plug 26. The usual driving mwns (seepatent) serve to drive wheel 22 and cause the saw band to travel in onedirection through the slot 26' in the table 28 on which the material tobe cut is positioned.

Top guide member 32 comprises a housing frame 34, mounted for swivel orturning adjustment on a plate which may be a head 35 of a stud 36 bymeans of machine screws 38 which pass through an arcuate slot 40 formedin plate 35, slot 30 being concentric with the axis of the cutting runof the saw band. Stud 33 extends through a socket member 42 carried onthe lower end of guide post l2 and is secured in position thereon by setscrew 46, socket member 42 being secured to post [2 by a set screw.

Mounted in alignment on spaced apart axes 60, which are in a planesubstantially parallel with the working plane of table 28, are rollers48 that are adapted to be adjusted to respectively contact the oppositesides of the saw band to prevent lateral movement, all as described inmy said prior Patent No. 2,152,906; in which patent a preferredconstruction of rollers is also described. Such adjustable mounting ofthe side rollers and their particular construction are not claimed asnew in this present disclosure and therefore will not be describedherein in further detail.

The guide disclosed herein, and in my said prior patent, also includes athrust roller 64 which takes the thrust imposed upon a saw blade as thematerial being sawed is pushed against the cutting edge of the blade,and consequently, it sufiers the major amount of wear. In the priorPatent 2,152,906, provision was made for horizontal adjustment of thisthrust roller to compensate for wear, as well as to facilitate shiftingthe blade forwardly or rearwardly a slight amount for purposes ofalignment. However, the adjustment arrangement of the patent tended tosqueeze the sides of the housing together and clamp the hub portion ofthe rotating guide wheel, sometimes causing it to bind slightly; also,the shaft of the wheel sometimes became canted very slightly whichspoiled the alignment.

These difficulties have been overcome in the present device by providinga pair of blocks 12, 14 (Figs. 3, 4 and 6) which are clamped by a screw62 against theinner race 52 of the ball bearing assembly which supportsthe wheel. As

virtue of their rigid relationship and the extend-- ed bearing surfacethey have against the housing, the blocks insure that the thrust wheelalways is disposed in the correct plane. Along the blocks 72, id eachside of the housing 34 has a slot 58. A wing nut 69 extending throughone of these slots and engaging block id only clamps this one to thehousing and does not pull thetwo sides of the housing together, as Wasdone in the patented arrangement, so that the difliculties pointed outbefore are avoided. Another set screw it! extending through the otherslot 58 is engaged with block '52 for guiding purposes.

Another feature resides in the shape of the housing which not onlycompletely covers the thrust wheel 6%, but at its forward edge divergesdownwardly from the opposite sides of the saw blade as at 3 and 34 overthe crown of the two side wheels 48. .The top of the housing 34 has aslit 79 on topthrough which the saw band runs; the object of this is tohelp peel off any cuttings that may be cling-ing to the saw blade andinsure that they are thrown far enough outwardly that they cannot becaught between the lateral face of the descending saw blade andtheadjacent guide wheel. This is of considerable importace when metal orother relatively hard materials are being sawed because the cuttings ofsuch materials, if allowed to pass between the The upper guide 32 isduplicated at as below r the work table tit-and is of these-meconstruction as the upper guide 32, having the same swivel mountingonthe plate 35 by means of the machine screws 33 which pass through thearouate slot 4c in the plate 35, but with this lower guide 89 the stud33 which carries plate 35 enters a socket 42' formed on the upper end ofan arm or plate 88 adjustably secured to the frame I of the band saw bymeans of a bolt 92 which is carried on the frame It and extends througha slot 93 formed in the arm or plate 88.

Obviously, the arcuate slot ii] of any guide 32 or 85 may extend eitherto the right or to the left of the axis of the stud 3B or to extend inboth directions of the axis of the stud 36. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 ofthe drawings herein show the slots 40 extending to the left of stud 38so that the guides can be swung to face toward the right, and Fig. 7shows the slots 40 extending to the right of the axis of stud 36. Theformer is intended for use when the right hand run or flight of the sawband is the cutting run or flight, and the latter is intended for usewhen the left hand run or flight of the saw band is the downmoving andcutting run of the saw band. As stated, the plate 35 may be constructedto have the arcuate slot 48 extend laterally in both directions from theaxis of stud 36 so that the mounting will permit swivel turning andadjustment of the guide 32 or 80 either to the right or to: the leftrelatively :tolthe axisof vstud 3,6 and permit my improved method to becarried'witlr either the right or the left run or'flight of the saw bandbeing usedas the cutting'run or flight.

The improvements I have made in the con-. struction and mounting of theguide disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,152,906 will be apparent fromthe above description and exposition. However, inasmuch as manydifferent embodi'-- ments of the swivel mounting of the guide andof itsconstruction may be made without departing from the scopeof thisinvention, it is understood that all matter contained in the above-de-'scription of method and apparatus or' shownin the accompanying drawingsbe interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I-claimz -1. A band saw guide of thecharacter described, including, in combination, a housing having spacedapart sides, horizontal channels on the inner faces of said sides andfacingeach other, a carrying block shiftably mounted'in each channel, aguide wheel between said blocks,"an axle rotatably supporting said wheelon and'between said blocks, said axle and blocks comprising a rigidunitary assembly,,a slotthrough each of the sides of the housing at thesaid channels thereof, a locking screw extending through one of saidslots and engaging one of said blocks'and adapted to lock' said block tosaid housing against horizontal shifting movement in its channel and aguide finger carried on the other'block and extending through the slotin the other side of the housing.

2. A band saw guide as set forth in claim 1 and in which the axle forsaid guide wheel includes a screw and an inner ball race mounted on thescrew, said race being proximate the screw and protruding sidewise ofthe wheel on both sides further than the other areas of the sides of thewheel, said screw adapted to clamp said carrying blocks against thesides of said inner ballrace, whereby said blocks are spaced .from theother areas of the sides of the wheel.

3. A'band saw guide as in claim'l wherein said locking screw and guidefinger are aligned with one another along a horizontal axis which isparallel to, but spaced laterally from, the axis of said axle.

4. A band saw guide of the character described, including, incombination, a housing having spaced-apart sides, horizontal channels onthe inner faces of said sides and facing each other, a pair ofspaced-apart blocks slidably received in the respective channels, anaxle spanning the space between said blocks with its ends carried by therespective blocks, said axle and blocks comprising a rigid assemblyshiftable as a unit in the direction of said channels, the outer facesof said blocks being slidably seated against the bottoms of therespective channels to prevent canting of said axle, said housing havinga horizontally elongated slot in one side thereof aligned with one ofsaid channels, means for clamping the outer face of the block in saidone channel tightly against the bottom of that channel thereby to locksaid assembly against movement, said last means including ascrew-threaded member extending outwardly from said last block throughsaid slot and having operative engagement with the exterior of thehousing adjacent the slot, and a guide wheel rotatably mounted on saidaxle between the blocks.

5. A band saw guide of the character described, comprising, incombination, a guide wheel ro- 7 tatably mounted on a sleeve, the sleevebeing slightly longer than the thickness of the wheel whereby its endsproject outwardly beyond the sides of the wheel, a pair of carryingblocks abutting the ends of the sleeve, a bolt extending through one ofsaid blocks and through said sleeve with its end screw-threadedlyreceived in the other block to clamp both blocks rigidly to the sleeve,a housing having spaced-apart sides with horizontal channels in theconfronting inner faces 'of the sides, said blocks being slidablyreceived in said channels for horizontal adjustment of said wheelrelative to the housing, said channels having vertical bearing surfacesagainst which the outer faces of said blocks are slidably seated,thereby to prevent canting of said guide wheel relative to the sides ofthe housing, and means for looking one of said blocks against sliding inits channel, thereby to hold the wheel in adjusted position.

- 6. A band saw guide of the character described, comprising, incombination, a guide wheel rotatably mounted on a sleeve, the sleevebeing slightly longer than the thickness of the wheel whereby its endsproject outwardly beyond the sides of the wheel, a pair of carryingblocks abutting the ends of the sleeve, a bolt extending through one ofsaid blocks and through said sleeve with its end screw-threadedlyreceived in the other block to clamp both blocks rigidly to the sleeve,a housing having spaced-apart sides with horizontal channels in theconfronting inner faces of .the sides, said blocks being slidablyreceived in said channels for horizontal adjustment of said wheelrelative to the housing, said channel having vertical bearing surfacesagainst which the outer faces of said blocks are slidably seated,thereby to prevent canting of said guide wheel relative to the sides ofthe housing, said blocks being horizontally elongated in the directionof said channels, and an adjustable clamping inember connected to one ofsaid blocks at a point spaced horizontally from the axis of said wheelfor clamping the portion of said block at said last point tightly to thehousing, thereby to hold the wheel in adjusted position.

'7. A band saw guide of the character described,

8 comprising, in combination, a guide wheel rotatably mounted on asleeve, the sleeve being slightly longer than the thickness of the wheelwhereby its ends project outwardly beyond the sides of the wheel, a pairof carrying blocks abutting the ends of the sleeve, a bolt extendingthrough one of said blocks and through said sleeve with its endscrew-threadedly received in the other block to clamp both blocksrigidly to the sleeve, a housing having spaced-apart sides withhorizontal channels in the confronting innor faces of the sides, saidblocks being slidably received in said channels for horizontaladjustment of said wheel relative to the housing, said channels havingvertical bearing surfaces against which the outer faces of said blocksare slidably seated, thereby to prevent canting of said guide wheelrelative to the sides of the housing, said housing having a horizontallyelongated slot in one side thereof aligned with one of said channels,means for clamping the outer face of the block in said one channeltightly against said bearing face of that channel, thereby to hold thewheel in adjusted position, said last means including a screw-threadedmember extending outwardly from said last block through said slot andhaving operative engagement with the exterior of the housing adjacent tothe slot.

HARRY G. MILLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 758,619 Culpepper May 3, 1904 836,446 Kaudela Nov. 20, 19061,452,179 Brenner Apr. 17, 1923 1,922,151 Boice et al Aug. 15, 19332,135,488 Baker Nov. 8, 1938 2,152,906 Miller Apr. 4, 1939 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 36,065 France Jan. 2, 1930 (Addition to No.662,574)

56,029 Norway Dec. 2, 1940 608,767 Great Britain Sept. 21, 1948

